Ring spinning machine and method of operation

ABSTRACT

A ring spinning machine and a method of operation in which each cop which is wound in the machine has the outer axial surface completely freed of the thread leading thereto from the respective thread guide by turning the spindle backwardly after it has halted, engaging the thread on the spindle side of the thread guide and moving it away from the spindle axis and then moving the engaged point to the spindle foot. Again turning the spindle backwardly to release any thread loop adherent thereto, removing the wound cop and placing an empty spool on the spindle, and turning the spindle forwardly prior to winding the empty spool. The engaging of the thread is accomplished by a thread engaging member carried on the balloon ring rail and slidable longitudinally thereon and having a slot for engaging the thread of each spindle.

Ilnited States Patent [191 Wacliendort et a1.

[ Oct. 15, 1974 1 RING SPINNING MACHINE ANI) METHOD OF OPERATION [75] Inventors: Friedrich Wachendorf, Eddestedt;

Alois Winkler, Bremen; Dieter Twillman, Bremen-Farge; Rolf Neulbert, Bremen, all of Germany [73] Assignee: Fried Krupp Gesellschal't mit beschrankter IIaftung, Germany 22 Filed: June 13, 1973 21 Appl.No.:369,728

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data July 18, 1972 Germany 2235165 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 11/1941 Elvin et al 57/34 TT 5/1956 Keefe, Jr 57/345 Eidlow ct a1 57/34 TT Elliott et al. 57/34 TT [57] ABSTRACT A ring spinning machine and a method of operation in which each cop which is wound in the machine has the outer axial surface completely freed of the thread leading thereto from the respective thread guide by turning the spindle backwardly after it has halted, engaging the thread on the spindle side of the thread guide and moving it away from the spindle axis and then moving the engaged point to the spindle foot. Again turning the spindle backwardly to release any thread loop adherent thereto, removing the wound cop and placing an empty spool on the spindle, and turning the spindle forwardly prior to winding the empty spool.

The engaging of the thread is accomplished by a thread engaging member carried on the balloon ring rail and slidable longitudinally thereon and having a slot for engaging the thread of each spindle.

5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENT'LQ DC? 1 51m I MEI 15$ 2 I 4 N t 7 \\\\\\\\\\\m PATEMEnum r 51914 3841 m4 SHEET 20F z wmi VQ\\\\\\\ \\M N RING SPINNING MACHINE AND METHOD OF OPERATION The present invention relates to a method of and device for automatically exposing the thread of cops when exchanging cops in ring spinning machines with spindles which comprise a spindle mounting especially in the form of spinning fingers.

More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and device as set forth in the preceding paragraph according to which in order to free said spinning finger from the thread at a certain residual speed of the spindle disconnected from the drive, the thread guide is preferably instantaneously tilted upwardly and the spindle brake is made effective.

The heretofore known method of exposing the thread operates semi-automatically. More specifically, only the freeing of the thread from the mounting of the spindle is effected automatically, whereas the subsequent freeing of the thread from the cop is effected manually.

It has become known automatically to free the thread from the spindle mounting by causing the spindle, after the drive has been disconnected, to taxi freely, and when a certain residual speed of the thread guide has been obtained, preferably instantaneously to pivot'the thread guide upwardly and actuate the spindle brake. More specifically, the upward tilting of the thread guide is effected by means of a quickly responding alternating current magnet. The magnet and the spindle brake are turned on by an electric pulse emitter which is set for a desired residual speed of the spindle and is designed in particular as so-called speed monitor.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention especially for the employment of an automatically operating cop changing device, to provide a fully automatic method of and device for exposing the thread from the cop when effecting a cop change in ring spinning machines.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a method and device as set forth in the preceding paragraph which will assure that the thread is exposed from the cop without requiring additional manual work.

These and other objects and advantages of the'invention will appear more clearly from the following specification in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is the front view of a spindle of a ring spinning machine which is for instance provided with a spinning finger for example with a balloon restraining ring (BR- ring) and provided for instance with a forced draft bucket (Unterwindbecher), and shows in full the thread position after the thread has been freed from the spinning finger, whereas the dot-dash lines show the position of the thread after the subsequent catching of the thread by the catching or tucking strip which in the catching plane, its uppermost position, has moved in its longitudinal direction toward the right hand.

FIG. 2 shows a view of FIG. 1 in the direction of the arrow II.

FIG. 3 illustrates in front view of the spindle according to FIG. 1, the thread position after the catching strip has been lowered to its lowermost position whereupon the course of the thread between the catching strip and the spinning ring in full line position corresponds to the condition prior to the second backward turning of the spindle, and in the dot-dash position corresponds to the position after the second backward turning and after the advance turning of the spindle.

FIG. 4 represents a side view of FIG. 3 similar to that of FIG. 2.

The method according to the present invention for automatically freeing the thread from the cop during a cop exchange in ring spinning machines with spindles comprising a spinning mounting especially in the form of spinning fingers according to which for purposes of exposing the thread at a certain residual turning movement of the spindle disconnected from the drive, the thread guide is preferably instantaneously pivoted upwardly and the spindle brake is made effective, is characterized primarily in that a thread catcher which laterally loosely grasps the thread freed from the spindle mounting by upwardly tilting the thread guide and by actuating the spindle brake at an increased control speed and by a subsequent first backward turn of the spindle is lowered in spaced relationship to the cop toward the spindle foot, and is furthermore characterized in that subsequent to the downward movement of a thread loop which might adhere to the cop, a second backward turning of the spindle is effected, and finally characterized in that prior to the start of the new winding of a cop, an advance turning of the spindle is effected in order to eliminate a looseness in the thread (Fadenlose).

The method according to the present invention will assure that the thread is automatically exposed without a manual operation. In particular, the further development of the heretofore known method for automatically freeing the thread from the spindle mounting further assures the increased safe occurrence 'of the desired result.

The present invention also comprises an advantageous device for practicing the method according to the invention. This device is characterized primarily by a thread catcher strip with devices for thread catching, which thread catcher strip is common to a plurality of spindlesand while extending horizontally is reciprocable in its longitudinal direction and is movable upwardly and downwardly parallel to itself. By means of these devices for catching the thread, the thread freed from the spindle mounting is within the region below the upwardly pivoted thread guide adapted to be caught automatically and can be freed from the cop toward the spindle foot.

The thread catching strip according to the invention, which is common to a plurality of spindles,-clearly underlines the considerable advance realized by the method according to the invention over heretofore known semi-automatic methods. A single operator was heretofore able with the spindles stopped in common,

by disconnecting the central belt drive, to free the threads from the cops only successively, which means one thread after another which required a long unproductive idling time of the ring spinning machine. In view of the present invention, it is now possible on the spindles which have been stopped together, simultaneously to free the thread from the cop whereby the time required for freeing the thread on a plurality of spindles is reduced to a considerable extent.

Advantageously, the devices for thread catching, which are arranged on the thread catching strip,'are so designed that when returning the thread catching strip to its starting position, the thread is automatically disengageable from the catching device.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the spinning station illustrated therein is built up in the following manner:

The spindle l with the cop la thereon is supported by the spindle rail 2. The ring rail 3 moves along the spindle 1 in conformity with the desired cop design. The balloon restraining (BR) ring rail 4 likewise extends along the spindle and has a ring 4a thereon for each spindle. Furthermore, within the region above the spinning finger 5 there is provided the thread guide 6 which is located on the guiding rail 7 and is shown in the drawing as occupying its upwardly tilted position. The thread to be spun moves through the thread guide 6 and passes from above to the spinning finger 5. In a manner known per se, the ring rail 3 is shown in the drawing to occupy its forced draft position in which after completion of a cop, the thread is in the form of a number of windings wound onto the forced draft bucket 10. When withdrawing the full cop from the spindle, the thread will break off at the forced draft bucket. The thread will, through the windings on the forced draft bucket at the feeding side, remaining connected to the spindle so that a separate or particular abutment of the thread against the newly placed empty sleeve will be superfluous. Prior to withdrawing the cop from the spindle during which operation the cop is laterally grasped at the mantle thereof, the thread which is fed through the thread guide 6 has to be freed from the spinning finger 5 and laterally from the cop so that when withdrawing the cop it will not be grasped and torn. The invention as it will be described further below in connection with the illustrated embodiment has as its object automatically to bring about the freeing or exposing of the thread. I

In conformity with the present invention, the horizontal thread catching strip 8 is provided which is parallel to the machine front. This strip 8 may parallel to itself be moved back and forth between an uppermost position, the catching position, according to FIGS. 1 and 2, on one hand and a lowermost position within the region of the spindle foot, according to FIGS. 3 and 4, on the other hand. Furthermore, the strip 8 can be moved back and forth in its longitudinal direction and, more specifically, between a catching and thread freeing position according to FIGS. 1 and 3 and a nonillustrated starting position which is moved toward the left relative to the position in FIGS. 1 and 3.

The thread catching strip 8 is indicated by the breaking line at both ends and is common to a plurality of spindles. The thread catching strip 8 has for each spindle l a device 9 for catching the thread. This device 9 is so designed that during the return movement of the thread catching strip to its starting position, the thread will automatically detach itself from the catching de vice.

According to the embodiment illustrated in the drawing, the thread catching strip 8 is arranged on the BR- ring rail 4 and, more specifically, in such a way that it can be displaced back and forth on rail 4 between the catching position and the starting position by means of a non-illustrated drive. In view of the thread catching strip 8, the stroke of the BR-ring rail, for which the adjusting drive is not illustrated, is extended upwardly to such an extent that the thread catching strip 8 will be able to occupy the height position in conformity with FIGS. 1 and 2. A mutual interference does not occur because the BR-ring rail and the thread catching strip 8 exert their functions at different times. The thread will automatically be freed from the cop in conformity with the following method:

The freeing of the thread from the spinning finger 5 is arranged primarily in conformity with heretofore known methods as described for instance in German Offenlegungsschrift 2,026,542. In conformity with this known method, the spindle will, after the nonillustrated central belt drive has been disconnected, freely coast to a standstill. When a certain residual speed has been reached, the thread guide 6 on the guiding rail 7 is in non-illustrated manner pivoted upwardly into the position shown in the drawing. Simultaneously, the non-illustrated brake of the central spindle drive is actuated.

The present invention furthermore'cornprises an improvement of the heretofore known method inasmuch as the upward tilting of the thread guide and the actuation of the brake is effected at a higher residual speed of the spindle in such a way that the thread is first wound off from the spinning finger and subsequently is in opposite direction wound up again to a certain extent. By a subsequent limited backward turn of the spindle,'the thread is then finally freed from the spinning finger. This method employed within the framework of the present invention will, with regard to the fact that after actuation of the brake of the central belt drive of the spindles the number of turns of the spindles till the spindles are at a standstill may vary under the circumstances, bring about an increased safety for the freeing of the thread from the spinning finger.

As will be seen from FIGS. 1 and 2, the thread freed from the spinning finger 5 and shown in solid lines will within the region below the upwardly tilted thread guide 6 laterally loosely be grasped by the thread catching strip 8. To this end, the thread guiding strip in the illustrated uppermost plane, the catching plane, was moved into the illustrated catching position from the non-illustrated starting position located further toward the left in FIG. 1. In the course of this displacement, the thread freed from the spinning finger and shown in solid lines was automatically threaded into the device 9 for thread catching so that when the catching strip has reached the illustrated end position, the thread will occupy the position shown in dot-dash lines. From FIGS. 1 and 2, it will be evident that when the thread is freed from the spinning finger, the thread section which is located between the thread guide 6 directly or through the catching device 9 of the thread catching strip 8 toward the ring runner 11 is moved around the spindle l with the cop.

From the position illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the thread catching strip 8 is by means of the BR-ring rail 4 lowered toward the spindle foot into the position shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The thread section between the thread guide 6 and the catching device 9 is properly freed from the cop 1a of spindle 1. However, it is to be expected that the looping of the cop 1a by the thread as set forth in the preceding paragraph brings about that a thread loop 12 remaining between the ring runner l l and the catching device 9 will at an upwardly directed incline get stuck on the relatively rough surface of the cop. At any rate, the probability that this loop will drop by itself is rather slim.

When grasping the cop and withdrawing the same from spindle 1, there exists the possibilitythat the loop 12 is grasped which in an undesired manner would bring about that the thread breaks between the thread guide 6 and the forced draft bucket 10. According to a feature of the present invention, for purposes of passing a thread loop which may adhere to a cop la downwardly, a second backward turning of the spindle 1 is carried out which may be dimensioned in conformity with the requirement.

In FIGS. 3 and 4, the downwardly looped thread loop as illustrated in dot-dash lines. It rests upon a BR-ring 4a which occupies its lowermost position. As will be seen from FIGS. 3 and 4, the thread length of the pulled-out loop 12 is considerably greater than the thread length of the downwardly passed loop which is illustrated in dot-dash lines. A corresponding thread looseness was eliminated according to a further step of the method of the invention by a correspondingly dimensioned forward turning of the spindle by winding up the forced draft bucket 10.

According to the illustration in FIGS. 3 and 4, the thread looseness has expediently been eliminated already prior to the withdrawal of the full cop. At any rate, the corresponding advance turning of the spindle must be effected prior to the new cop being formed. On the other hand, in view of the thread looseness, there exists the following danger namely, that when turning on the delivery mechanism (not illustrated) and after turning on the spindle after a new empty cop sleeve has been placed in position, and after the automatic disengagement of the thread from the catching device of the thread catching strip, as well as after pivoting the thread guide downwardly, the thread delivered by the delivery mechanism will, aided by the backup of the thread on the ring rotor, wind onto the spinning finger in such a way that the thread breaks.

After the empty sleeve has been placed in position, the BR-ring rail 4 is moved upwardly into its piecing position. In the meantime, the thread catching strip 8 remains in the displacing position illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3. In the piecing position of the BR-ring rail, the thread catching strip is displaced toward the left with respect to the drawing. The thread will then automatically disengage itself from the catching device 9. If the above mentioned thread slack has not yet been eliminated, it would then have to be done by a forward turning of the spindle at this time. Subsequently, the ring spinning machine can again be started.

It is, of course, to be understood that the present invention is, by no means, limited to the particular showing in the drawings but also comprises any modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A method of operating a ring spinning machine having a spinning mount with a spinning finger, said method insuring that the outer axial surfaces of a cop wound on a spool and ready for removal from the machine will be completely disengaged from the thread leading to the respective spindle of the machine, said method comprising: disengaging the spindle from the drive therefor, at apredetermined speed of rotation of the spindle braking the spindle while simultaneously tilting the thread guide through which the thread is guided to the spindle upwardly and laterally away from the axis of the spindle whereby the thread disengages from the spinning finger, turning the spindle backwardly a predetermined amount, engaging the thread at a point adjacent the thread guide on the spindle side thereof and moving the engaged point of the thread laterally away from the spindle axis, moving the engaged point of the thread to the foot of the spindle opposite the end of the spindle nearest the thread guide, again turning the spindle backwardly whereby any thread between the said engaged point and the draft bucket at the foot of the spindle which is looped on the outer axial surface of the cop will drop free of the cop thereby permitting the cop to be removed from the spindle without breaking the thread between the thread guide and the draft bucket and exposing the spindle to receive an empty cop spool, releasing the thread at said engaged point, and turning the spindle forwardly prior to winding the new cop to eliminate slack in the thread.

2. The method according to claim 1 which includes carrying out the described steps simultaneously for a plurality of spindles.

3. In a ring spinning machine having a plurality of coplanar parallel spindles each adapted to receive cop spools to have cops wound thereon, a thread guide axially spaced from the head end of each spindle and tilt able laterally, a thread engaging device extending in a direction parallel to the plane of the spindles and perpendicular to the spindles and offset radially from the spindles, means supporting said device for movement in parallel with itself from the head end of said spindles to the foot end thereof and vice versa, means for moving said device in the longitudinal direction, and thread catching means on said device for engaging threads on the spindle side of each thread guide when the device is moved in one longitudinal direction and for releasing the engaged threads when moved in the opposite longitudinal direction.

4. A ring spinning machine according to claim 3 in which each said thread catching means is in the form of an elongated slot having an opening on the side facing the thread to be engaged and near one end of the slot.

5. A ring spinning machine according to claim 3 in which said machine has a balloon ring for each spindle, a rail supporting said rings, said thread catching device comprising a bar slidably supported on said rail and moveable axially of said spindles thereby. 

1. A method of operating a ring spinning machine having a spinning mount with a spinning finger, said method insuring that the outer axial surfaces of a cop wound on a spool and ready for removal from the machine will be completely disengaged from the thread leading to the respective spindle of the machine, said method comprising: disengaging the spindle from the drive therefor, at a predetermined speed of rotation of the spindle braking the spindle while simultaneously tilting the thread guide through which the thread is guided to the spindle upwardly and laterally away from the axis of the spindle whereby the thread disengages from the spinning finger, turning the spindle backwardly a predetermined amount, engaging the thread at a point adjacent the thread guide on the spindle side thereof and moving the engaged point of the thread laterally away from the spindle axis, moving the engaged point of the thread to the foot of the spindle opposite the end of the spindle nearest the thread guide, again turning the spindle backwardly whereby any thread between the said engaged point and the draft bucket at the foot of the spindle which is looped on the outer axial surface of the cop will drop free of the cop thereby permitting the cop to be removed from the spindle without breaking the thread between the thread guide and the draft bucket and exposing the spindle to receive an empty cop spool, releasing the thread at said engaged point, and turning the spindle forwardly prior to winding the new cop to eliminate slack in the thread.
 2. The method according to claim 1 which includes carrying out the described steps simultaneously for a plurality of spindles.
 3. In a ring spinning machine having a plurality of coplanar parallel spindles each adapted to receive cop spools to have cops wound thereon, a thread guide axially spaced from the head end of each spindle and tiltable laterally, a thread engaging device extending in a direction parallel to the plane of the spindles and perpendicular to the spindles and offset radially frOm the spindles, means supporting said device for movement in parallel with itself from the head end of said spindles to the foot end thereof and vice versa, means for moving said device in the longitudinal direction, and thread catching means on said device for engaging threads on the spindle side of each thread guide when the device is moved in one longitudinal direction and for releasing the engaged threads when moved in the opposite longitudinal direction.
 4. A ring spinning machine according to claim 3 in which each said thread catching means is in the form of an elongated slot having an opening on the side facing the thread to be engaged and near one end of the slot.
 5. A ring spinning machine according to claim 3 in which said machine has a balloon ring for each spindle, a rail supporting said rings, said thread catching device comprising a bar slidably supported on said rail and moveable axially of said spindles thereby. 